Two held for booking 3,000 rail tickets worth ₹90 lakh for post-Holi rush on fake IDs in Patna

These e-tickets were booked on fake identity cards and were meant for the post-Holi rush season in March. RPF’s Patna unit seized ₹52,000 in cash, electronic devices such as computers and printers.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) on Sunday arrested two men from a travel agency in Patna for allegedly fraudulently booking 3,184 electronic and regular tickets worth ₹90.27 lakh, in what is claimed be one of the biggest seizures in recent times.

The two men were identified as Chandan Kumar, 30, and Pankaj Kumar, 25 — both residents of Patna. Kumar said that seized tickets were of 2AC, 3AC and sleeper classes for destinations such as Delhi, Mumbai, Howrah, Pune and other metro cities. (Rajesh Kumar Thakur/ HT Photo)

These e-tickets were booked on fake identity cards and were meant for the post-Holi rush season in March. RPF’s Patna unit seized ₹52,000 in cash, electronic devices such as computers and printers. The station house officer of Patna junction, V N Kumar, said Puja Travel Agency was raided on the directive of IG RPF Ravindra Verma. “In the raid, the members of squad seized around 3,000 e-and regular tickets worth over ₹90 lakh of actual fare. These tickets were meant for sale in the black market after Holi,” Kumar said.

The two men were identified as Chandan Kumar, 30, and Pankaj Kumar, 25. Kumar said that seized tickets were of 2AC, 3AC and sleeper classes for destinations such as Delhi, Mumbai, Howrah, Pune and other metro cities.

As per the railway rule, reserved tickets can be booked 120 days before the journey advances. The post-Holi rush starts from March 22 onwards.

According to RPF, 97 touts were arrested between January 1, 2018 to January 27, 2019 in Bihar. In 2018, RPF had seized malicious software named Red Mirchi that was being used to slow the website of IRCTC, which is used to book tickets — during the tatkal period.